5 Communication mistakes Businesses make and how to avoid them!

Strategic communication is defined as the purposeful use of communication by a business or organization to achieve its objectives in measurable terms. 

The key words in this definition are “purposeful”, “objectives” and “measurable“. Communications can be a business enabler and it works best when it is purposeful, targeted and specifically crafted to achieve a desired outcome with an identified group of people or audience.

Companies that understand the value of communications tend to be at the top of their game on a national and international level. Those that do not fully understand this are limited in their operations, impact, visibility and overall success and efficiency. There are a number of mistakes that business makes in terms of communications.

1. Professionalism: One of the biggest and very common communication mistakes is hiring inexperienced or unskilled professionals to handle critical roles in business or private sector communication. There is sometimes a perception that anyone can handle communication. This is more common in organizations or businesses that are local or national in terms of their spread and operations and not necessarily international or global companies. There is a lack of understanding about the skills required, the range of competencies and required expertise levels for different aspects of communication.

For that reason, these businesses do not hire professionals with proven expertise and experience. Some even go as far as hiring or retaining staff who know little or nothing about the science, art or ethics of communication. The results can be chaotic in issues and crisis management – as skills gaps become more apparent when complex stakeholder relationships and communication need to be managed in an integrated and strategic manner.

2. Reactive Strategy: Some businesses also have a reactive approach to communications. They do not plan for communications in the same way as they do for sales, human resources, finance, operations, services, projects etc. As a result, there is not enough attention paid to using communications to drive internal alignment and building a shared vision. Such organizations are likely to be dis-jointed, mis-aligned and operating in a very dysfunctional manner. Particularly in programs or projects that require collaborative delivery, such businesses would struggle. Communication works best when it is proactive i.e. pre-planned, pre-designed, pre-purposed and pre-determined. Reactive communication is inevitable but should not be the norm – especially for every day operations.

3. Tick-the-box mentality: Closely linked to the above. Some businesses treat communications as something to do, just to tick the box. This is very common in medium and large scale companies. There is not enough time and effort put into the WHY, WHAT, HOW and WHO of communications. They just do it – to be able to say: We have communicated. The results are always sub-optimal as no attention is paid to ensuring that the communication is targeted at achieving a specific objective that is measurable and impactful to the business or organziation. Communications practitioners in these organizations also have a role to ensure that this mentality or practise does not take hold. It is important to demonstrate the value of being purposeful and intentional in your business communications.

4. Tactical Approach: Another common mistake is taking a tactical approach to communications. This is very common with small to medium scale companies – although less common with multinationals who have a footprint across nations and understand the importance of being able to communicate across cultures and build a shared vision acorss national boundaries. SMEs are more likely to treat communication from a tactical approach rather than strategic i.e. they work from the answer rather than from the question.e.g. would start planning an event or campaign without taking much thought to consider the business problem that needs to be solved and brainstorming on how a targeted stakeholder communication and engagement campaign can make a tangible difference in enabling the business to resolve the problem or improve its performance in a specific area.

5. Leadership Connect: This mistake cuts across all sectors and size of businesses. Many leaders fail to realize how important communication is to their own ability to deliver as a leader. A leader that is perceived as being distant from or disdainful of employees in his or her business or organization is a failure – regardless of what the bottom-line says. And it is a matter of time before the disconnect becomes a problem for the business or the organization. People are at the heart of every business endeavour. Every product, service or project on the planet is targeted at people. Even in an AI-powered world, we have people improving, studying the technology and ensuring it continues to deliver beyond expectation. It is important for leaders to build this connect with the employees within the organization they lead through smart and intuitive communications. The very public and ongoing case of Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter is a live example of how important it is to communicate properly with employees – even in the most difficult circumstances.